


A Dragon and Two Spooky Skeletons

by S_Joaker06 (Hiss_Hiss)



Series: In Which Dragons Exist and They Hoard Family AND Riches [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Horrortale (Undertale), Dragons, Dragons went through some shit because of the war, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Friends to family, Gen, Horrortale - Freeform, Horrortale Papyrus (Undertale), Horrortale Sans (Undertale), Humans are Nicer, I just wanted dragons and family fluff okay, I'm making that a tag, Like really slow I'm so sorry but we'll get there, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Or maybe it will I don't know what you think, Past Character Death, Past Violence, Post-Undertale Neutral Route - Empress Undyne Ending, Recovery, Slow To Update, Tags May Change, The Author Regrets Nothing, The title implies this will only be about Sans and Papyrus but I swear there'll be others, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, Unconventional Families, Undertale Monsters on the Surface, and Monsters get therapy post-surfacing, but Horrortale, it's mostly fine now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2020-10-17 07:28:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20617247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hiss_Hiss/pseuds/S_Joaker06
Summary: Monsters surfaced a little over a year ago now. The skeleton brothers, like most monsters, are slowly but surely recovering the best they can from the Underground's famine. But Sans, much to his brothers worry, is drifting, letting life continue without him.So Papyrus suggests they leave town for a bit on a trip... To the middle of absolutely nowhere.Yeah...Emmerich wasn't expecting anyone to ever go out far enough from the rest of the world for them to cross paths. But lo and behold here are two skeletons that are in need of some love.As for everyone else? Well they're in for a surprise too when the skeletons return!





	1. Monsters? In their woods? It's more likely than you think

**Author's Note:**

> I just thought this fandom needed a little more content with dragons... I didn't plan for this fic to be in a post-surfacing, kinda-fluffy Horrortale... OC just up and decided 'yep this is my origin universe now'. So I guess I'll write the takes on other AU's I had another time. :)

'Emmerich', as they were called, has lived through many things.

They have done many things too.

Some they aren't proud of.

This is one of those times.

Dangling in a net, swinging side to side, they pout. How _dare_ this simple net capture them, a dragon, one of the most ancient and powerful beings in this mortal world! Heheh... Heh....

Yeah, they're pretty disappointing in themself.

Emmerich had been stalking through the woods surrounding their den at night because they had skipped the last few times they were suppose to patrol, and had found many traps fit for wild animals like deer and rabbit. They were able to avoid every one of them both due to their size and eyesight, till they took a wrong step around what looked like a modified bear trap and activated an unfairly large net trap that pulled them into the air.

At first they had panicked, making the most undignified sound they've heard in centuries, but eventually calmed after sensing that no one was coming. Unfortunately, Emmerich's clawed talons and strong wings had been pinned to their sides, making them resemble a hanging bat, so they needed to chew through the net with their teeth which means more time they're stuck in this embarrassing predicament. 

Glancing around and sniffing the air as they continue to gnaw through the net, Emmerich can smell the unmistakable scent of bones. It's different from what they're accustom to though; instead of having a rotting or dirt smell, it's magic.

Monster magic.

In _their_ woods.

They know monster kind was freed a while ago now, but that doesn't stop them from being surprised a bit every time they smell purely monster magic. Also, shouldn't whatever monster out here be closer to civilization? It's not exactly a short walk to the closest village.

...Maybe it's a hunter.

Emmerich's brother did tell of how their sub-species of monster was more often than not considered uncivilized beasts, even among the rest of monsters. It wasn't just humans who hunted them down in times long ago. It's not really a stretch to consider if monsters would still hunt them, and Emmerich hasn't lived this long by brushing off such worries.

Best be prepared, as they say. But don't jump to conclusions, it _has_ been centuries.

Another rope of the net snaps and Emmerich finds themself slipping through, falling the few feet to the ground and landing on their back instead of their head with a quick twist of their body. Emmerich rolls back over and stands up quickly, stretching their indigo blue scaled wings out as far as they can in the woods, the tips turning dark red briefly, and casts a scrutinizing look around them as if threatening the trees themselves if any dare speak of their less than graceful landing.

The only response they get is a slight breeze rustling the trees and the chirping of crickets.

Satisfied, Emmerich folds their wings back up with a huff that comes out more as a snort and puff of smoke, deciding that was enough patrolling for tonight. They give a quick glance in the direction the monsters scent leads, memorizing it, before turning and walking in the opposite direction back to their den. Emmerich would investigate more tomorrow when they _weren't_ acting like, as humans would say, 'a complete klutz'.

...Stars, they really hope whoever is in their woods stays far away from their den.

* * *

Sans grimaces, reaching a hand up to his face before he stops himself, shoving it back into his jacket pocket with a sigh.

In front of him hangs one of the net traps he and Papyrus set up yesterday. It's in tatters. Something _way_ bigger than a deer got out of that. Can't have been a bear either, the locals said there's none up here, which is kind of strange given how great an area it'd be for them.

Come to think of it the locals back in the town acted strange too, when they were asking about the area the cabin they rented was at. Sans had chalked it up to his and his bro's appearances at the time, but maybe...

He looks around his surrounding carefully, but the only signs Sans can make out of what was here is the disturbed ground under the net, like something had rolled around there, and the few small twigs that were totally crushed leading farther into the woods.

Maybe the locals were nervous for a different reason...


	2. Followed

They are silence. A cloud rolling past unnoticed. The breeze that, unknown to everyone, brings with it a storm. They-

A bird lands on Emmerich's head with a musical chirp, interrupting their internal monologue before it even begun. They roll their eyes, tilting their head to the side to exaggerate the movement, but the bird stays in place, not bothered in the slightest.

Oh how the mighty have fallen, for not even a puny little sparrow to respect the rulers of the sky. Has their fire breath and scales of steel become, as the young ones say... 'Old hat'?

Emmerich stifles a snort at their own thoughts, carefully adjusting their perch on the thick branches of the tall tree they're in. From seemingly nowhere another sparrow dives down and hops up Emmerich's neck, twittering contently with the other on their head. They accept this as their life now, scales shifting hues of brown and green to better match their hiding spot.

Why are they hiding? Well a few trees away, down below them, lays one of the traps they saw the night before, a rabbit now siting in the cage in tired acceptance. After a good nights rest Emmerich decided that instead of searching for the monsters themself, they would simply wait until they came to check their traps and follow from there.

They hear the crunch of a twig and shifting grass as something comes closer. Emmerich tightens their tail around the trunk of the tree and presses one wing to the trunk stretched upwards like part of the bark, while the other continues to act as a branch, scales constantly shifting in the morning light of the sun to keep up the charade. They are but an unfortunately shaped tree-branch, with a large knot in it that is most definitely _not_ a dragon's head.

Not a moment sooner, out from between the trees walks a skeleton. Not a human one, of course, Emmerich has seen enough of those to know the difference at a mere glance. This skeleton is a monster, and one they smelled back in the net to boot!

But, dear _stars_, his appearance causes Emmerich to feel a pain of sympathy for the kid. The first thing they notice is the huge, jagged hole on the left of his skull; Then his singular bright red eye-light which, if Emmerich remembers correctly, is not a very natural eye color for most other monsters to have outside of boss monsters or dragons.

He's sure been through the ringer.

At least he looks like he's doing better (to some extent) than whatever was before, and that blue galaxy-print jacket he's got on is absolutely gorgeous! It's a shame it probably doesn't come in Emmerich's size.

During their thoughts the skeleton has taken it upon himself to collect the rabbit from the trap. Emmerich doesn't usually hunt rabbits, the animal is too small to be anything more than a little snack for them, but they can appreciate a good catch when they see one.

A third bird lands on Emmerich's branch-disguised wing and they suppress a sigh.

The skeleton pauses after standing back up, looking at the surrounding woods carefully. Emmerich closes their eyes almost all the way as the skeleton looks up in the trees as well, hiding their scarlet eyes from being noticed among all the greens and browns around them.

Despite that, the skeleton stares _almost exactly_ at where Emmerich is hiding, they don't even dare to breathe. Does he see them? Was their camouflage not good enough? How good at hide and seek is this guy? Why isn't he doing anything? Should _they_ do something?

The bird on Emmerich's head takes flight, followed by the other two. The skeleton's eye follows the birds as they dance around a few trees before landing on one farther away. He doesn't look back at where Emmerich is, but does give the forest another scan before shrugging, starting to walk away.

Oh good! He was just looking at the birds. And even if the skeleton did realize something else was watching him, he obviously couldn't pin down what or where it was. Emmerich was worried there for a second.

Slowly, they begin to move from tree to tree. The skeleton has walked quite a bit away now with his catch, so as long as Emmerich follows from a distance and stops when needed, everything should be fine. They may be often plagued by paranoia, but Emmerich _does_ know their camouflage abilities and just how good they are.

Few others can say they're so good at hiding that even those with SOUL sight can't see them. It's a point of pride for Emmerich.

* * *

Sans knows something is following him.

He knows this, but he can't _see_ anything. Sure there were a few birds earlier on a weird tree branch, but other than those and the fresh rabbit there has been no signs of a single SOUL beyond those of the animals in the forest.

Yet it was then that something had started following him. He knows it.

It was unnerving, Sans was used to being the one _doing_ the hunting, not the one being hunted. He briefly wondered if this is how all his victims felt, when he followed them through snowy trees, not making a sound but still being _there_ and they could look and look but they won't see him until he's right in front of them with his axe behind his back ready to-

Sans winces, pulling his hand away from where it had wandered to pull at his eye-socket as his thoughts spiraled.

Let's... _Not_ think about that right now. In the middle of being followed. Right, followed, not hunted. Now that Sans focuses on it he can practically feel the difference in intent, even if he can't see who it's coming from. It's just curious, as cautious as himself, not a hint of ill will to be found. Sans takes a bit of comfort from that fact, but still doesn't let his guard down.

Sans decides he'll finish what he was doing, checking all the traps to the east and north-east of their cabin while Papyrus checks the others. He'll probably take a shortcut back to the cabin though. He still doesn't want to lead whatever is following him straight back to where they're staying.

A small twig snaps and Sans whips around to look for the source of it.

He still sees nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emmerich can change color kind of like a chameleon. It's a trait of the sort of dragon they are. Any other hiding abilities beyond that need to be learned and honed, which Emmerich had plenty of time to do.


	3. The Cave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus makes a discovery! :)))

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took forever. But surprise! Another chapter! :D  
It's the longest one yet, hopefully y'all enjoy it. :)

Papyrus was having a good day.

A _great_ day, actually!

Many of the traps he and Sans set up yesterday had already caught something, and there is still more to check! So much food! And Sans has even been grinning one of his content grins instead of his pretend-okay grins. This vacation to a cabin in the woods was the best idea he, the great Papyrus, has ever had!

Before he knew it, Papyrus had checked almost all the traps and collected what they caught. The storage box on his phone was very useful in carrying the venison in particular, and sure Papyrus could carry that too with the rabbits over his shoulder, but he wanted to keep at least one hand free for trap disabling.

A problem has presented itself, however...

He... Might have strayed a little far from his route, too caught up in his thoughts, and now is unsure of the way back.

But nothing to fear! The map of the forest a kind human local insisted he buy should come in handy, if he can just find some type of landmark... Papyrus thinks of this situation as a kind of reverse treasure hunt. Oh, that might actually be kind of fun! He'll need to remember that for later.

Papyrus looks around at the tall trees, humming. The view from up one of them might help him find his way back, he doesn't think he walked _that_ far. Then again, the surface is a lot bigger than the Underground, and he's still getting used to just _how_ big, so his perception might be skewed due to the lack of change in scenery for so long. Not to mention he _is_ a lot taller than he used to be, so he takes longer strides...

He sighs, placing his haul on a nice patch of grass, goes to the nearest tree, and starts climbing. Papyrus climbs up, and up, and up some more until the branches become too flimsy to hold even his light weight. He looks around, maybe for a plume of smoke from the fire they decided would be fine to leave for a couple hours and boil a large pot of water, or another sign he wasn't too lost.

Of course, because the universe loves making his life difficult and can't just give him nice things, all he sees are trees, a few sparrows flying away, more trees, and a mountain surprisingly close to his current position that was hidden by the thick canopy of leaves and branches from the ground.

Awkwardly digging the map out, adjusting the round glassed on his face from where they began to slide down, he finds there is indeed a mountain on it, cut off by the boarder of the map. There's a little note next to it warning of the mountain being dangerous, with rock-slides whenever people visit and no trail to walk it, advising you if you're thinking of visiting the mountain to bring a guide.

Well, the note obviously hadn't taken monster magic into consideration. Papyrus thinks that the mountain would make for a much better vantage point, and if a rock-slide does happen he can use his blue magic and be just fine, since he's almost as strong as he was before the famine. He has an idea of where he is now, but he still doesn't know which way is the way back to the cabin with the sun high in the sky.

Papyrus tucks the map away again and hops down from tree branch to tree branch until he lands on the ground at the foot of his haul of meat. Hefting it back over his shoulder, Papyrus starts his trek towards the mountain.

It's not a particularly long time before the flat ground starts to slope upwards, the trees lessening, more rocks appearing alongside the forest greenery.

After a while, with no rock-slide in sight, when the scenery has changed to most of the tall trees being stumps and logs crushed by boulders, Papyrus looks back down the mountain to see how far he's climbed.

Oh, _wowie_.

He's definitely higher up than the trees back at the base of the mountain! Maybe three times as high, even. Papyrus looks around for the way back again, one hand raised to block the sun from obscuring his vision.

Nyeh heh! There! A slight plume of smoke! Papyrus is sure that's it. He takes the map out again and checks the marked location of the cabin, looks like he headed off a little too far west, then. Well, now that he knows where he is, it'll be easy to get back!

"Nyeh Heh Heh!" Papyrus laughs to himself, propping his glasses back up like in those anime's that Alphys would watch, "The Great Papyrus Is A Master Of Map Reading! Not Even A Forest As Tricky As This One Can Defeat Me!" He cheers, red scarf billowing in the breeze.

It's at that moment Papyrus notices something between two conveniently placed boulders up against a large ledge of dirt and rock. It's hidden well, behind one of the largest surviving bushes on this mountain that Papyrus has seen, winding around the boulders and stumps near it and almost reaching as high as his mid-chest. He takes a few steps closer to get a better look, checking that there is, in fact, a _cave_ there.

A big cave too, Papyrus would only have to bend down a tiny bit to fit in it. How exciting! Maybe a bear lives there? But then, how would the bear get in without tearing down the bush surrounding it? And then there's the fact that bears don't seem to live around here, or if they do, nowhere close to the cabin.

Papyrus hums, this is quite the mystery! The only way in and out of the cave seems to be by jumping down from and climbing up the ledge... But Papyrus really should be heading back soon, not debating whether he should explore a cave or not.

He knows Sans wouldn't want to, ever since they escaped the Underground, Sans has avoided _being _underground in any way. Tunnels, caves, subways, all stamped with a big fat _NOPE_. Many other monsters are the same, but there are also those that are relatively unaffected by being underground again for short periods of time, like Papyrus.

Plus the fact Sans doesn't like it when Papyrus uses the subway or discourages him from cool stuff like exploring caves, this could be one of the only chances he gets to, well, explore the cave.

...

......

....................

One little peek won't hurt. Like that one saying goes, curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back!!

Papyrus climbs the ledge over top the cave, sets his haul down once again, and then jumps onto the small patch of clear ground at the cave's mouth. He pulls out his phone and takes the flashlight in it out of the Dimensional Box (you ALWAYS need a flashlight on you when camping or exploring new places!), flicks it on, and takes his first few steps into the cave.

(He doesn't notice the scrapes along the ledge's edge, like claws.)

...

Papyrus runs his hand over the cave wall and small clumps of dirt fall, but not enough to be worrying. It's very interesting, how the roots of trees and variously sized rocks packed with dirt make the walls a little crumbly but definitely sturdy. Well, not sturdy enough to hold up a large and very heavy car, but enough to hold a persons weight over top it certainly.

The cave seems to dip down a bit as he keeps walking, and Papyrus takes his hand away from the wall to adjust his glasses again, they don't sit very well on a skull.

It goes on like that for a couple more minutes, with no sign of an animal in sight, before the cave seems to get larger. The walls become wider and the ceiling high enough that Papyrus no longer needs to crouch. Ahead Papyrus sees something on the caves walls give off a steady, soft blue light. Closer inspection reveals the light source to be a glowing mushroom like the ones that used to grow in Waterfall.

He pokes it, and the glow stops with a tiny squeak. He pokes it again, and the glow starts up again with a similar squeak. Papyrus smiles, it's been a while since he's seen glowing mushrooms, he thought the only place they could grow was the Underground.

There are more glowing mushrooms popping out of the walls and ceiling up ahead, and as Papyrus keeps walking larger ones are sprinkled in, some as large as his hand! Obviously the glowing mushrooms are thriving here. Papyrus barely needs his flashlight anymore.

And then Papyrus comes to the end of the tunnel, a large chamber with glowing mushrooms on its walls, ceiling and floor casting it in a spectral light. There's some stalactites growing on the ceiling that almost look like they're glowing in the lighting. Papyrus thinks that their two story cabin could fit in here and still just barely touch the ceiling.

But that's not the most interesting thing in the cave, though it is still very amazing in Papyrus's opinion. No, the most interesting thing in the cave is a pile of _gold_ in the middle of the room, with a large, smooth black stone on top of it like some strange nest.

"Wowie..." Papyrus says quietly. He walks towards the gold pile, inspecting the riches there (gold coins, gold cups, gold jewelry, gold _everything_) then turns to the strange stone. It's about as big as a basketball, a bit more oval shaped, and upon a closer look isn't as smooth as it first seemed. Papyrus touches the stone, it's warm for a stone down in a cave, he runs a hand over it, feeling the many smooth but defined ridges and grooves that encircle it.

Strange, indeed.

He's gotta show Sans this! But, there's no way Papyrus will convince his brother to go in the cave, and this stone and gold obviously belongs to _somebody_ with how it's purposefully piled in the very center of the room...

Papyrus could always take the stone with him, he supposed.

But that's stealing! And Papyrus doesn't want to _steal_ anything.

He could put it back afterwards, no one else but them are currently in this area of the forest, there's no way the person this stuff belongs to could come by without them knowing. No one would even know it was gone!

Oh, shut up thoughts, you're not helping.

...But he _really_ wants to show Sans this rock!

Sans likes rocks and stuff, he used to go on and on about the glowing rocks and crystals in Waterfall, and even some of the more boring rocks in Snowdin and Hotland. Papyrus thought it was cool how his brother knew all that stuff about rocks, even got him a pet rock as a present! And even though it became different after the _accident_, and everything else in the Underground that happened, surely Sans would still like to see this strange, warm stone Papyrus has found too.

Then it's decided. Papyrus will bring the rock to Sans, have him look at it a bit, then return it as soon as possible! No harm done.

Papyrus gives his signature laugh, picks up the stone easily and tucking it under one arm, he turns around and starts on his way back out of the cave.

It shouldn't take too long to get back to the cabin.

* * *

Emmerich huffs, flopping (gracefully) onto their side on top of the ledge over their den. It smells like rabbit blood, maybe a fox came by and caught a rabbit while they were gone.

They had been following the skeleton carefully, and it was going well. But then, an hour or two later, he had just... _Disappeared_. Poof! Finished checking his traps, walked behind a tree, and never came around the other side!

Emmerich has seen a lot of magic in their time, but they didn't know skeleton monsters could _teleport_ now. What a pain, they couldn't even find the direction of his residence. Now they-

.... Wait.

Emmerich sniffs the air, sitting up.

That... That smells like skeleton monster. Not the one they were following though, a different one. They can vaguely recall smelling it on that net trap along with Galaxy Hoodie's scent.

Emmerich sniffs the ground, and under the overwhelming scent of fresh meat they smell it again.

What was a monster doing _this close_ to _their_ _den_?

Did the skeleton monster go inside?

That thought sends them shooting to their feet. In one quick, familiar movement Emmerich hops over the ledge and is sprinting through the cave, close to the ground and wings tightly tucked to their back. They knock a few glowing mushrooms loose with their tail on the way, but they can't be bothered to care when the new skeleton monster's scent _doesn't go away_.

Emmerich emerges in the chamber at the end of their cave, and feels a cold zap through their entire body when their eyes land on the small pile of gold Emmerich managed to keep throughout the years.

The egg is missing.

_Their egg is missing_.

_Their **egg**, their only egg, who cares if it is biologically or not, is mis- no, has been **stolen**_.

Those skeleton monsters have their_ EGG_. _No one_ is allowed to even _touch_ their egg and _they just **STOLE it from them**_.

Emmerich snarls.

They're not a very violent dragon, 'more bark than bite' as the saying goes, but right now even _they_ aren't sure what they'll do when they find the skeleton monster that stole their most precious treasure.

But they're about to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't take weird stones out of random piles of gold pal, might just be a dragons nest.
> 
> Comment what you liked about this chapter, or what you think will happen next! ;)

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to comment and/or leave a kudos! And see you next chapter! ^-^
> 
> Also apparently 'Emmerich' is pronounced like emmer-ICK and not emmer-ITCH, so there's a fun fact.


End file.
